(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ announcement of a special report on Sierra Leone: FREETOWN 1999: JOURNALISM IN THE KILLING FIELDS On January 6, 1999, fighters from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) entered Freetown, Sierra Leone and launched a terror campaign. The rebels systematically murdered, mutilated, and raped thousands of civilians. Journalists, who were […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ announcement of a special report on
Sierra Leone:
FREETOWN 1999: JOURNALISM IN THE KILLING FIELDS
On January 6, 1999, fighters from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
entered Freetown, Sierra Leone and launched a terror campaign. The rebels
systematically murdered, mutilated, and raped thousands of civilians.
Journalists, who were hunted down, faced particular scorn. Seven were
murdered in the span of three weeks, as Sierra Leone became the most
dangerous country in the world to be a journalist.
In two chilling accounts, published today on CPJ’s website, Sierra Leonean
journalists describe what it was like to live through those days of horror.
Their accounts are especially relevant now that the Lome peace accords have
been signed and former rebels have been invited to join a coalition
government. Sierra Leone’s fragile peace process is at a crucial stage.
The report begins with an historical introduction by CPJ Africa coordinator
Claudia McElroy. The full text of the report can be found on CPJ’s website
www.cpj.org/Briefings/SierraLeone/Intro.html
